American B-17D - This is a model of a land based Army heavy bomber that fought against the December, 1941, Japanese invasion of the Philippines. The first B-17s to see combat were Lend-Lease B-17C's exported to the British in early 1941, but they were found to be too lightly armed and armored. The subsequent D version was an improvement but it still lacked defensive firepower. The E variant, introduced in late 1941, was the first version to have the familiar dorsal and ventral machine gun turrets, along with the machine gun position in the tail. The B-17 was supposed to be replaced by the B-24, but the Flying Fortress was improved and used through the end of the WWII. Subsequently, both of these heavy bombers were used in the American daylight bombing campaign against Germany. When production of the B-17 ended in early 1945, about 12,700 had been built.
